Michigan Holds off BYU in Back-and-Forth Battle
For Immediate Release—University of Michigan Lacrosse
March 6, 2010
PROVO, Utah—The University of Michigan men’s lacrosse team wrapped up its season-opening road trip Saturday night in Provo, Utah, defeating Brigham Young by a score of 13-9 and improving to 3-0 on the 2010 campaign. In a seesaw affair, the Wolverines gutted out the victory with timely runs and a focus on possession despite the absence of six players due to suspension.
Freshman Thomas Paras (Lakewood, Ohio/St. Ignatius) had the best day of his young Wolverine career, netting four goals while adding three assists. Junior attackman Trevor Yealy (Pittsburgh/Upper St. Claire) had another typically productive outing, netting four goals as well, while senior midfielder Jamie Goldberg (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown) played out of position at attack most of the night, but still managed to net two goals of his own while adding an assist.
The Wolverines won the opening faceoff and put together a lengthy possession to kick off the game, registering two quality chances but failing to find the back of the net. BYU responded with three shots from the left wing with junior goaltender Mark Stone (Greenwood Village, Colo./Cherry Creek) coming up big early on.
It was the Cougars that would score first, however, on a shot from just outside the crease to grab the early 1-0 lead. BYU made it 2-0 just over a minute later on a dodge down the left wing followed by shot across the cage that snuck just inside the right elbow.
Michigan was awarded a man-up opportunity following a push in the BYU zone after the ensuing faceoff, but the maize and blue failed to capitalize, turning the ball over early in the man-up. The turnover resulted in a BYU possession and their third goal of the game as the Cougars opened up a 3-0 lead late in the first quarter.
The Wolverines got on the board on their next possession as senior captain David Rogers (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Hills) found Paras open on the right wing after two Cougar defenders slipped on the play. Paras fired a rocket that seemingly went through the goaltender as Michigan clawed within two at 3-1.
Following the goal, Michigan was nailed for back to back offsides calls, with the latter carrying over into the second quarter. The man-down unit was up to the task, killing off both penalties and earning the first solid possession of the second quarter. Michigan failed to capitalize on that chance, but a transition attempt the next time down resulted in Yealy’s first goal of the game on a feed from Paras from the behind the cage.
Michigan was called for its third and final penalty of the game at the 10-minute mark, but UM gained possession and put on the stall in the Cougar zone. Immediately following the end of the penalty, senior midfielder Michael Bartomioli (Pleasantville, N.Y./Pleasantville/Providence) cut around the left side of the cage and fired high to knot the game up at 3-3 with 9:04 left in the first half.
The Wolverines earned their first lead of the game on Goldberg’s first goal of the night off another feed from behind the cage from Paras. Michigan tallied its fifth unanswered goal 1:20 later as Rogers added his lone goal of the contest on a blast from the right wing after a dodge. With momentum in its favor, Michigan kept rolling as Goldberg added his second score of the quarter just under a minute later on a dodge around the cage followed by a low shot to give UM a 6-3 lead late in the second.
Michigan was awarded a minute-long man advantage right before the halftime break, but failed to score and eventually turned the ball over, resulting in a late chance for the Cougars. Stone came up big as the whistle blew, stopping a behind the back shot as the Wolverines took a three-goal lead into the second half.
The Wolverines have been a good third-quarter team throughout their more than two-year stretch of unbeaten play, but they had a sloppy start to the second half and it resulted in BYU cutting the lead to 6-4 with 9:51 left in third quarter on a low shot from straight out. The Cougars drew within one the next time down on a high, hard shot from the left wing with 8:20 remaining in the quarter. The Cougars’ run continued as they tied the game at 6:46 on a wide open chance from 10 yards out after a breakdown in the Wolverine D.
Michigan finally answered on the man-up just over a minute later as senior midfielder Anthony Hrusovsky (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) finished a feed from Rogers from 15 yards out on the left wing. Michigan regained the two-goal lead on the transition at 3:39 as Paras found a cutting Yealy, who dipped and dunked for the 8-6 lead in the third. The Wolverines put together a flurry of chances just before the quarter break, but were unable to bury it, taking a two-goal lead into the final frame.
Paras added the first of three fourth quarter goals under a minute into the period, picking off a pass deep in the BYU zone on a Wolverine ride before racing toward the front of the empty cage and firing low as Michigan rebuilt its three-goal lead at 9-6. An offsides call on the Cougars at 11:50 resulted in Michigan’s largest lead of the game as Goldberg fed a cutting Yealy right in front for his third goal of the game.
BYU wouldn’t go away and quickly responded to cut the lead to 10-7 with 10:37 left in the contest. Paras didn’t let them build any momentum, however, scoring from the left wing on a high blast to help Michigan regain the four-goal lead midway through the fourth. UM’s next possession resulted in a nice feed from sophomore midfielder Alex Vasileff (Birmingham, Mich./Seaholm), who made the extra pass and found an open Yealy right in front of the cage for his fourth and final goal the game and the 12-7 lead with 6:25 left.
Once again, BYU failed to pack it in, answering at 6:02, but Michigan never let the Cougars creep any closer than four as Paras tallied his fourth and final score of the game on another rocket followed by a late, inconsequential BYU goal as Michigan improved to 3-0 on the young season with its third win over a ranked opponent in just seven days.
Statistically, Michigan dominated in almost every category. UM was outshot by BYU 37-34, but recorded 67 ground balls to the Cougars’ 39. UM was 17 of 25 on faceoffs and finished 24 of 30 on clears while riding BYU to 13-21 totals. Michigan scored three times on eight man-up attempts with Brigham Young failing to score on three tries. However, the Wolverines once again committed too many turnovers—registering 33 in the contest—some of which were a result of the high-pressure BYU defense.
The Wolverines will kick off their home schedule next week when they host No. 3 Simon Fraser Friday night (March 12) at 7:00 p.m. EST in Ann Arbor, Mich. at Oosterbaan Fieldhouse. For all your Michigan men’s lacrosse needs, please visit mgobluelacrosse.com.
